Poplar Grove Airport (C77), Poplar Grove, IL

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State Of The Chapter Address

May 2018

Hey All,

You know it's finally Summer at C77 when the tail-draggers return to the grass! Finally, warm nights, cool calm mornings, and hot sunny days are just around the corner. It's also a good time to share the Spirit of Aviation with that new Graduate, new co-worker, new neighbor, or new friend.

While enjoying your summer, please consider coming out to help at one of our Fly-In/Drive-In Pancake Breakfasts and Young Eagles Rallies. There's no better way to make new friends, reconnect with old friends, and share your passion for aviation with our community. Plus, your efforts will help fund our yearly scholarship, as well as maintain our hangar to build the Jenny, help Scouts get an Aviation Merit Badge, provide a community meeting space, and host educational and social events.

Our Pancake Breakfasts are on the second Sunday of the month, May thru October.

Here's what's been going on at Chapter 1414:

May Monthly Gathering Date Change - Special Speaker

This month, our monthly Chapter Gathering will be on Wednesday, March 16th instead of Tuesday, March 8th. Dinner hour still starts at 5:30pm and our presentation will start around 6:30pm.

Our special guest speaker will be Francis Gary Powers, Jr. Gary is the son of Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 pilot who was shot down in the midst of the Cold War on May 1st, 1960, while flying in Soviet airspace. He is also the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of The Cold War Museum at Vint Hill, VA, 45 minutes west of Washington, DC. Gary has also authored the book "Letters from a Soviet Prison" which chronicles his father's life in captivity as reflected in his journal and correspondence.

Recently, he consulted for the Steven Spielberg Cold War thriller, Bridge of Spies about James Donovan who brokered the 1962 spy exchange between Rudolph Abel and Francis Gary Powers, Sr.

Gary will be speaking with us about his father's experiences being shot down and held captive for over 2 years in a Soviet prison as documented in his father's letters and journal entries written during his time as a prisoner of war. He will also speak about what he has done over the past 25 years to honor Cold War veterans, preserve Cold War history, and educate students about this time period.

Hangar Cleaning Party

I was so glad to see so many of you out at the hangar on Saturday, April 28th to get the hangar ready for Summer. Thanks to all the volunteer support, the hangar floor is scrubbed, the kitchen and bathrooms are shining, the tables and chairs are washed, and the front entry is looking better than ever. Pretty good for less than 3 hours work!

Welding Seminar

On Saturday, March 24th, another group of Chapter 1414 members took their first step to becoming welders at our 2018 TIG/MIG welding seminar. The MIG and TIG machnes wre fired up as the group learned about everything from personal protective equipment to torches to hands-on practice. Thanks again to our member Don Perry for giving his time and talent to teach the class.

Boy Scout Campout/Flights

Back on Saturday and Sunday, March 10th &11th, we hosted a group of Boy Scouts in the hangar. After "camping in" for the night, the Scouts received the ground instruction for their Aviation Merit Badges at the Museum and were treated to their first airplane flight by Scott Crane and Young Eagles volunteer pilots. Thank you to all who made this special event possible for a great bunch of young men.